Pages

Monday, January 16, 2012

Pan Am: Dean & Bridget? Ted & Amanda?

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Between TCA, CES, and two wedding to attend across the country last week, you may notice that we didn't post as often as we regularly do. So, several posts this week will cover recaps for two episodes per series, starting with this one for ABC's Pan Am. The show lost a certain edge when Kate announced that she no longer wanted to be a SkySpy, but now that Ted's entering a lifetime commitment with Amanda, AND Bridget's back to vie for Dean's love, the show is getting a bit rough. The implication that Amanda is hott for Maggie isn't helping, and the fact that so many scenes are now in New York as opposed to in the air or in foreign locales is also a bit boring. Still, I'm holding out hope for a renewal on this one - I think that they could have something here, they just need to stop playing with so many different areas and figure out what they want to focus on.

Pan Am "Secrets and Lies" (S01E10): Picking up where we left off, Anderson starts developing an alibi for Kate, who just shot someone. He does a few things and then tells her to leave. [that really was quite the cliffhanger, wasn't it?] In New York, a week later, Bridget comes to see Kate, as she heard about a mission that compromised some agents. Kate goes to see Richard, and says that she wants out. He tells her that it's all been arranged, but she needs to be debriefed and take a polygraph in London. [I don't see Kate working up to be a good liar, do you?] As "a witness to a shooting," her testimony is important to keep things flowing. See, Anderson lied and said that he was the shooter, so Kate needs to go along with that story. She's clearly worried about it, so he teaches her how to lie for the polygraph - just trick yourself by making the answer the truth to a different question. [novel idea. bet it used to work back in the day, too. I somehow think that it would no longer fly... the systems are likely more advanced by now...] Kate is still upset, so she asks Bridget about her experiences... only Bridget never had to take a polygraph. [jBridget and Kate seem to have very different spy experiences... have you noticed this?] Kate passes the polygraph, Anderson tells her that she's free to go, but we are left thinking that Kate is having second thoughts anyway. [c'mon, girl! MAKE UP YOUR MIND!]

Dean and Colette are coming home from a night out, and she tells him she
has a secret for him when they get to London. [I got excited. too bad we only find out that the surprise may have been related to The Beatles. otherwise it's not really identified.] As they're preparing to
board the flight, Bridget shows up, and she tells Dean that she's sorry she's been away.
He's upset and doesn't want to see her, but she's a passenger on the
flight to London. Colette asks Bridget for the truth, and she says that
she was very sick and didn't want to burden anyone. [not thrilled with this lie, guys.] She asks Colette to
get Dean to talk to her, so that she can explain herself, so Colette convinces Dean to do so. He
has a drink with her and she continues to speak of her "illness," adds that she isn't married, and states that she never wanted to lie.
[blah blah blah] Later, Colette thinks that Dean is confused, and, although he says he wants to be with her, there's still a tense and awkward (and sad) scene.
Dean and Bridget talk again, and she says that she was in danger, and
that's why she couldn't call. She even tells him that she worked for
British Intelligence as a spy, which shocks him. He doesn't seem to
believe her, and she says that the other men were contacts, not lovers.
He isn't sure what to do with the information. Of course, they make out... and then some. [grrr. Not a Bridget fan.]

Laura, Maggie, and Ted are not on the flight to London. Laura is working on a photography project and Ted and Maggie are her models. Maggie wants to publish an article against the politician, with whom she's also becoming slightly involved. Maggie goes to a newspaper office thinking that she's meeting with an editor about her article, but instead she's handed a stack of "well-written" political articles, so she can see how she might improve her "angry diatribe," and give it an angle. [while it would be shocking to hear, I have no doubt that Maggie's writing needed work.] She later goes to have a meal with the politician. Maggie's article is edited a bit by her newspaper friend, who runs it because there was some blank space. Of course, Maggie spends the night with the congressman, who sees the paper in the morning. [it bothered me that she'd rather make out with the guy than tell him the truth.]

Ted is with his old friend, Amanda, who is still a bit snooty. He asks Laura's advice about how to get into Amanda's pants, but Laura tells
him that's it's fine for some girls to save themselves for marriage,
but not everyone does so... and then she admits to having had sex. [I realize this was a bit more taboo in the 1960s, but Ted seemed very, very shocked, I thought.] Ted and Amanda have lunch with his dad, who starts sharing secrets from Ted's childhood. Amanda then tells Ted about how his father played a woman's role in a college play, which she's heard about from her own parents. [I appreciated that she attempted to "even the score" a little bit there.] Ted plays the "some things are worth waiting for" line when Amanda questions why he isn't begging to come upstairs at the end of the night.[eye roll!] To thank Laura for the advice, Ted gets Laura a fancy camera and case, then tells her that he's going to ask Amanda to marry him. [whoa there, buddy. what's the rush?]

Pan Am "Diplomatic Relations" (S01E11): Bridget and Dean wake up, and he asks her about some of the things that went wrong over the course of the past year. Dean gets a call and dashes off, having to fly to New York immediately to have a meeting with the chairman of Pan Am. [oooh, fancy!] The airline is thinking of opening up routes in the Soviet Union, and Dean is to head up the delegation. He briefs the stewardesses on the importance of this run, but he's interrupted by another Captain, who is now on the crew for this flight as well. This new guy was a WWII pilot, so he pretty much has carte blanche. He also forced Dean to be his co-pilot. While en route, Bridget
asks Kate about her missions, but Kate says that she can't reveal
anything.

Once they land, the girls all share a room and are quickly introduced to third world amenities, like small bathrooms and no soap. The girls cannot leave the hotel without an escort, but Kate
does anyway. Luckily, the new captain covers for her when she runs into a
Russian. The captain has a bunch of cigarettes that he's brought to
Russia, as well as some alcohol. [oh. so he makes his money on the black market. figures.] They do take an arranged tour, and Kate finagles them to be able to go by the address she needs to visit for her SkySpy stuff, claiming that her grandfather used to live there. [I didn't think it was very believable, and I thought it was weird that Laura never needed to confirm this idea.] Laura takes a photo of the building, and she and Bridget are arrested for espionage. [this I actually believed completely.] They're being held for questioning, and Dean asks to go to the embassy, but he isn't allowed to leave the hotel. He's still smart, though, and tells the girls to go upstairs and pack up everyone's things so that nothing can be planted in their stuff. While doing so, Colette finds one of Dean's cufflinks in Bridget's stuff. [sad face.]

While they're waiting, Bridget shares her experience with Dean in London with Laura, but before Laura could really comment, they're moved to another location. Meanwhile, The trip gets canceled and the crew is to return to America immediately, sans Bridget and Laura. [omg. this is serious!] Kate manages to get out and back to the building which houses the woman she is supposed to "retrieve." Kate suggests the woman talk to her boyfriend, who works in the Kremlin. [of course.] Later, Kate blackmails the captain into making a call to the number that she received from her connection. He'll also have to spend a few thousand dollars, but between that and the pilots stalling to start the engines (even when a gun is pulled on them), Laura and Bridget are brought to the plane. [tho I don't understand why Kate doesn't take any credit!] For the trip home, the Captain even gives Dean back the pilot seat. Laura is upset that she lost her new camera to the Soviets. She asks Colette how she's doing, and it prompts her to
talk to Bridget. They make up, though Bridget leaves out a few things
and acts a little coldly. [VERY coldly!] Colette knows what happened between Bridget and Dean, and ends up quite upset when Dean talks to her, a conversation which we don't hear.

facebook.com

Now for the grounded folks this week... Ted now has an engagement ring he plans to give Amanda, though it's really only been a month or so. The congressman reads the piece in The Village Voice and is upset (and he doesn't even know that it was Maggie's brainchild yet...), though he's ready to show her off as his date at important events. Maggie complains that Mike (the newspaper guy) twisted around her words. [I have no doubt that he did.] At the event, Amanda and Ted are there, as her parents support the congressman. After Maggie says some rude things about one of the congressman's contributors, it becomes clear that she's the source that the newspaper quoted. This isn't focused on for long, however, as Ted proposes to Amanda at the party, and she accepts. Amanda tells Maggie that she's brave for standing up for herself... and the episode ends with them sharing a kiss, which surprises Maggie.[...and probably most viewers as well.]